Mutual Respect and Tolerance: Christmas is a special time for many people for many different reasons. This assembly presents a Christian understanding of the festival by focussing on the person of Jesus.

End time: 00:11:49 (Tim says, ‘Never’ and the baby pushes him in the face.)

Clip length: 5 minutes and 39 seconds.

If you cannot play this clip from the DVD, instead say, ‘Tim is a much-loved only child. But, one day, he wakes up to find that he has a new baby brother. However, this baby is very different from other babies. He can walk. He is dressed in a business suit and he carries a briefcase. Tim’s parents seem not to notice how different their new baby is to other babies. But like other babies, he demands a lot of attention and his parents are kept very busy looking after him. Pictures of the new baby start appearing around the house and his toys are everywhere. Tim feels a bit neglected. His parents assure him that, in time, he will come to love his baby brother. Tim strongly disagrees.’

FILM CLIP 2

From The Boss Baby (Dreamworks Animation, 2017) certificate U

Start time: 01:20:55 (The Boss Baby returns to Baby Corp.)

End time: 01:26:52 (Tim says, ‘Luckily for me and my brother it had a happy ending’.)

Clip length: 5 minutes 57 seconds

If you cannot play this clip from the DVD, instead say, ‘The Boss Baby returns to the offices of Baby Corp. He is given a hero’s return for stopping people from loving puppies more than babies. A painting of him is hung up on the wall and he is given his own office. He should be happy but, instead, he is miserable because he is really missing playing with Tim. Tim is also miserable because he is missing playing with the Boss Baby. Tim decides to write the Boss Baby a letter telling him how he feels. At Baby Corp, the Boss Baby opens the letter. Inside it, there are hundreds of beads. These are to show the Boss Baby how much Tim loves him. The Boss Baby is very happy. He decides straight away to leave Baby Corp and to go back to Tim’s house. But, this time, he will no longer be the Boss Baby, he will just be Tim’s normal baby brother. Tim is overjoyed that his brother has returned.’

Welcome, everyone. Our assembly this morning is about babies. It is sometimes difficult to believe that everyone in the world, no matter how old or how powerful they might be, began life as a baby. This is true for all the animals in the world as well. Let’s begin our assembly by playing a quiz in which you have to tell me the proper name for the baby of each animal that I show you. Are you ready?

[PowerPoint slides 2 – 17]

Name that baby quiz.

[PowerPoint slide 18]

Almost all baby animals need looking after because they can do very little for themselves. This is particularly true for human babies. They cannot walk or talk or feed themselves or use the toilet. Looking after a baby can be very demanding because the needs of a baby have to come first. (Ask the children whether any of them have recently had a new brother or sister. Let them tell you the baby’s name and the impact of his/her arrival upon them and their family.) When you have a new baby in your house, it can almost feel that they are the boss and everyone has got to do what they want.

[PowerPoint slide 19]

This is the idea behind the film, The Boss Baby. When his parents have a second child, Tim makes up a story in which his baby brother is very different from other babies and has joined Tim’s family for a particular reason.

End time: 00:11:49 (Tim says, ‘Never’ and the baby pushes him in the face.)

Clip length: 5 minutes and 39 seconds.

If you cannot play this clip from the DVD, instead say, ‘Tim is a much-loved only child. But, one day, he wakes up to find that he has a new baby brother. However, this baby is very different from other babies. He can walk. He is dressed in a business suit and he carries a briefcase. Tim’s parents seem not to notice how different their new baby is to other babies. But like other babies, he demands a lot of attention and his parents are kept very busy looking after him. Pictures of the new baby start appearing around the house and his toys are everywhere. Tim feels a bit neglected. His parents assure him that, in time, he will come to love his baby brother. Tim strongly disagrees.’

[PowerPoint slide 20]

Tim imagines that his new baby brother works for a big business called Baby Corp. Their job is to make sure that people love babies.

[PowerPoint slide 21]

But there is a threat to their business and that threat comes from puppies. People all over the world are starting to love puppies more than babies.

[PowerPoint slide 22]

Tim’s baby brother is determined to put a stop to this worrying new trend especially as the company that Tim’s parents work for are about to launch ‘The Forever Puppy’ – a puppy that never grows up.

[PowerPoint slide 23]

Tim and his baby brother make a deal. If Tim helps the Boss Baby to stop the launch of ‘The Forever Puppy’, the Boss Baby will go back to Baby Corp. Working together, the brothers succeed in stopping the launch of ‘The Forever Puppy’. Tim goes back to being an only child and his brother goes back to Baby Corp. But neither of them is happy.

End time: 01:26:52 (Tim says, ‘Luckily for me and my brother it had a happy ending’.)

Clip length: 5 minutes 57 seconds

If you cannot play this clip from the DVD, instead say, ‘The Boss Baby returns to the offices of Baby Corp. He is given a hero’s return for stopping people from loving puppies more than babies. A painting of him is hung up on the wall and he is given his own office. He should be happy but, instead, he is miserable because he is really missing playing with Tim. Tim is also miserable because he is missing playing with the Boss Baby. Tim decides to write the Boss Baby a letter telling him how he feels. At Baby Corp, the Boss Baby opens the letter. Inside it, there are hundreds of beads. These are to show the Boss Baby how much Tim loves him. The Boss Baby is very happy. He decides straight away to leave Baby Corp and to go back to Tim’s house. But, this time, he will no longer be the Boss Baby, he will just be Tim’s normal baby brother. Tim is overjoyed that his brother has returned.’

[PowerPoint slide 24]

At Christmas, Christians retell the story of the birth of Jesus. He was born into a normal family and had to be cared for by his mum and dad. But Christians believe that he is also God. This is what one of the first Christians wrote about him in the Bible.

[PowerPoint slide 25]

(Read Colossians 1:15) For Christians, Jesus is the real Boss Baby.

[PowerPoint slide 26]

But, unlike the Boss Baby in the film, Christians believe that Jesus’ special task was to show people how to love each other and all of God’s creation more. Christmas, therefore, can be a time for everyone to show more love to each other and to the world.

The Boss Baby tells Tim, ‘There’s not enough love to go around’. Do you think that people only have so much love to give to others?

If you have a younger brother or sister, how did you feel when they were born?

Do you like being ‘the boss’? Why/not?

Would you like to be ‘the boss’ when you grow up? Why/not?

Who is your boss? What sort of a boss are they?

Prayer

Dear God, we praise you for being the boss of everything. We thank you for becoming one of us and showing us how to love each other more. We thank you for our family and friends whom we love and who love us. This Christmas, help us to be more loving to other people and to everything else that you created. Help also all of the ‘bosses’ around the world to use the power you have given them for the good of everyone. Amen.